BUDGET airline Ryanair could be carrying more than 500,000 passengers a year to and from Liverpool by the end of 2005.

In an interview with the Daily Post, the Dublin-based carrier's UK customer services manager, Cathy Timlin, said two new routes already announced, to Rome and Milan from early next year, would bring an extra 200,000 people a year through Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA).

Bigger capacity planes planned for the Dublin route means the service will soon be carrying more than 200,000 people a year and the Barcelona Girona route, launched in February, is expected to carry over 100,000 a year.

The commitment to JLA from Ryanair is welcome news coming just days after the Daily Post revealed that a blueprint drawn up by three government agencies could mean a massive expansion at Manchester Airport at the expense of Liverpool.

Ryanair currently operates just one service from Manchester, to Dublin, but Ms Timlin refused to be drawn on the possibility of more routes from there.

She said: "We are always talking to all the airports we operate from, but I can say we are very pleased with the performance of our routes out of Liverpool. Operating out of two nearby airports poses no problem for us.

"What we look for from our airports is operational efficiency, which is harder to achieve at very large airports, and a low cost base. We get both of those at Liverpool."

She added the service out of JLA to Barcelona had already proved a big hit with travellers.

"Since it began in February we have already carried 66,000 passengers and it has exceeded all our targets."

Ryanair services were two out of 17 new routes announced for JLA this year. Ryanair's low-cost rival easyjet has added three new routes taking its total to 13.

VLM now operates five time a day to London City Airport while Flybe, Wizz Air, Air Wales have also announced a range of new services.

The new report, compiled by the North West, North East and North Yorkshire Development Agencies, envisages a massive expansion of Manchester Airport growing from its current 21m passengers a year to 50m by 2030.

The Northern Airports Priorities Plan also proposes a major upgrade of road and rail links to the airport.

In the past two years, Manchester has attracted a number of budget airlines and it is feared any expansion could threaten Liverpool's viability.

JLA's managing director Neil Pakey told the Daily Post earlier this week: "If Manchester was to become the Heathrow of the North then we could become the Stansted of the North."